For the 41st year, the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana will visit nine Montana cities to deliver its local, state and national economic outlooks.
New this year, BBER will release its inaugural Montana Economic Report 2016, a comprehensive assessment on the Montana economy, at the half-day events, which kick off Tuesday, Jan. 26, in Helena.
The event will be held in Kalispell on Friday, Feb. 12 at the Hilton Garden Inn. Click here to register.
This year’s program focuses on property tax growth across the state, an issue of importance to many living or doing business in Montana. According to BBER economists, one of the reasons why Montana’s oldest tax is among the least popular is because it also is the least understood. And in most communities, it continues to increase. The BBER’s 2016 Economic Outlook Seminar series, to be held around the state January-March, takes aim at that issue.
The program will address how the tax works, whether it’s working well and why its growth is seemingly endless. It also will question whether the state’s oldest tax is prepared for the future.
Doug Young, professor emeritus of economics at Montana State University, will discuss Montana’s current property tax system and its viability for the future in his keynote address, “Rising Property Tax Bills: What You Should Know.”
The half-day seminar and luncheon will highlight the latest economic trends for local, state and national economies. BBER economist Patrick Barkey will deliver the national and state outlooks, BBER economist Paul Polzin will present economic forecasts for each seminar city, and industry specialists will provide the outlook for Montana’s important economic sectors: nonresident travel, health care, real estate and housing, agriculture, manufacturing, forest-industry products, and energy.
Registration costs $85, which includes the Montana Economic Report 2016, a copy of the PowerPoint presentation, lunch and a one-year subscription to Montana Business Quarterly, BBER’s award-winning business journal. Continuing education credits are available.